One strategy for arthroscopic suture fixation of tibial intercondylar eminence fractures using the Meniscal Viper Repair System

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Principles for the treatment of tibial intercondylar eminence fracture are early reduction and stable fixation. Numerous ways to treatment of this fracture have been invented. We designed a simple, low-invasive, and arthroscopic surgical strategy for tibial intercondylar eminence fracture utilizing the Meniscal Viper Repair System used for arthroscopic meniscal suture.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 5 patients, who underwent arthroscopic suture fixation that we modified. The present technique utilized the Meniscal Viper Repair System for arthroscopic suture of the meniscus. With one handling, a high-strength ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) suture can be passed through the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the loops for suture retrieval placed at both sides of ACL. Surgical results were evaluated by the presence or absence of bone union on plain radiographs, postoperative range of motion of the knee joint, the side-to-side differences measured by Telos SE, and Lysholm scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The reduced position achieved after surgery was maintained and good function was obtained in all cases. The mean distance of tibia anterior displacement and assessment by Lysholm score showed good surgical results.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This method simplified the conventional arthroscopic suture fixation and increased its precision, and was applicable to Type II fractures that could be reduced, as well as surgically indicated Types III and IV. The present series suggested that our surgical approach was a useful surgical intervention for tibial intercondylar eminence fracture.</p

Footballer's Lateral Meniscus: Anterior Horn Tears of the Lateral Meniscus with a Stable Knee

This paper aimed to identify the characteristics of isolated anterior horn tear of the lateral meniscus in footballers who underwent arthroscopic surgery. We identified 8 patients with stable knee and no ligament injury, who had only isolated anterior horn tear of the lateral meniscus between 2007 and 2009. All 8 patients were footballers, comprising 7 men and 1 woman with mean age of 18.6 years. Arthroscopy revealed multiple longitudinal tears in 2 patients, longitudinal tear in 2 patients, degenerative tear in 3 patients, and flap tear in 1 patient. Two patients were treated by repair, five by partial excision, and one by rasping only. The mean Lysholm score was 65 before surgery and recovered to 89 at the last followup, on average 12 months after surgery. Anterior horn tear of the lateral meniscus in footballers with a stable knee is characterized by pain at the anterolateral aspect of the knee during knee extension, especially when kicking a ball, and pain during weight-bearing knee extension, together with MRI finding of hyperintense signal in the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Preoperative diagnosis may be possible based on these findings in footballers

Live E! Project: Establishment of Infrastructure Sharing Environmental Information

The Live E! project is an open research consortium among industry and academia to explore the platform to share the digital information related with the earth and our living environment. We have getting a lot of low cost sensor nodes with Internet connectivity. The deployment of broad-band and ubiquitous networks will enable autonomous and global digital information sharing over the globe. In this paper, we describe the technical and operational overview of Live E! project, while discussing the objective, such as education, disaster protection/reduction/recovery or busi-ness cases, and goal of this project activity. 1

Kannattavuuden arviointi yksityismetsätaloudessa

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kannattavuuden arviointi esimerkkitilalla metsätalouden ohjelmistoja hyödyntäen ja arvioida ohjelmistojen soveltuvuutta yksityismetsätalouden käyttöön. Työn teoriaosuuteen perehdyttiin tutustumalla Suomen metsävaroihin ja metsänomistajarakenteeseen. Met-sätalouden kannattavuuden perustana olivat teoriapohja liittyen metsätalouden tuloihin, menoihin ja verotukseen. Työssä aineistona käytettiin vuonna 2015 laadittua metsäsuunnitelmaa. Tutkimusmenetelminä olivat esimerkkitilan kannattavuuden arviointi Metsätalouden kannattavuuslaskuria ja Motti-ohjelmistoa hyödyntäen. Metsätalouden kannattavuuslaskurin avulla laadittiin yhteenveto metsätilan taloudellisista tunnusluvuista, taselaskelmasta, tuloslaskelmasta ja kassavirran kehityksestä. Motti-ohjelmistolla laadittiin esimerkkitilan edustaville kuvioille kehitysennusteet ja selvitettiin erilaisten metsänkäsittelytoimenpiteiden taloudellista kannattavuutta. Keskimääräinen liiketulos metsätilalla oli 10 073 euroa vuodessa. Metsätilan hehtaarikohtainen liiketulos oli 45 euroa vuodessa. Metsätilan kirjanpidon tulos säilyi positiivisena lukuun ottamatta tarkastelujakson viimeistä vuotta, jolle ei ajoittunut metsäsuunnitelman mukaisia hakkuita. Esimerkkitilalla kannattavuutta voitaisiin parantaa tekemällä osa metsänhoitotöistä omatoimisesti ostopalvelun sijasta. Metsätalouden kannattavuuslaskurin todettiin soveltuvan kannattavuuden tarkasteluun tilatasolla. Metsätalouslaskurin edellyttämä metsäsuunnitelma mahdollistaa mahdollisimman luotettavan kannattavuuden arvioinnin. Epävarmuustekijöinä laskelmissa on rahavirtojen perustuminen pitkän ajan indekseihin. Motti-ohjelmisto soveltuu erilaisten metsänkäsittelyvaihtoehtojen vertailuun ja niistä aiheutuvien kustannusten arviointiin kuviotasolla. Motti-ohjelman epävarmuustekijänä on puuttuva mahdollisuus simuloida luonnon tai ihmisten aiheuttamien tuhojen vaikutusta metsikön kasvuun.The purpose of this thesis was to estimate profitability in a certain forest holding using silvicultural softwares and evaluate their suitability for use in forestry. The theory part handles Finnish forest resources and forest ownership structure. The profitability of forest holdings was based on the theory in incomes, expenses and taxes. The material for the thesis was a forest management plan that was made in 2015. The thesis consisted of the evaluation of the profitability in one forest holding using a profitability calculation programme and Motti-software. With the profitability calculation programme a summary of the financial figures, balance sheets, income statements and cash flow developments in forest holdings was done. Motti-software was used to make development predictions in the representative compartments and estimate the economic viability of silvicultural works. The average business result in the forest holding was 10 073 euros per year. The average business result per hectare was 45 euros. The turnover of the forest holdings remained positive in the whole period expect the last year, because there were no fellings according to the forest management plan. The profitability of the forest holdings can be improved by making part of the silvicultural work on your own instead of buying the service. The Profitability calculation programme was suitable for examining the profitability at the forest holding level. Because the software requires a forest management plan, the profitability can be estimated as reliably as possible. The uncertainty in the calculations is based on long term esti-mates in cash flows. Motti-software is suitable for comparing silvicultural works and fellings at a compartment level. Motti-software does not have an option to simulate natural or human damage to the development of a forest stand

Outer Membrane Vesicles of Helicobacter pylori TK1402 are Involved in Biofilm Formation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Helicobacter pylori </it>forms biofilms on glass surfaces at the air-liquid interface in <it>in vitro </it>batch cultures; however, biofilms of <it>H. pylori </it>have not been well characterized. In the present study, we analyzed the ability of <it>H. pylori </it>strains to form biofilms and characterized the underlying mechanisms of <it>H. pylori </it>biofilm formation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Strain TK1402 showed strong biofilm forming ability relative to the other strains in Brucella broth supplemented with 7% FCS. The strong biofilm forming ability of TK1402 is reflected the relative thickness of the biofilms. In addition, outer membrane vesicles (OMV) were detected within the matrix of only the TK1402 biofilms. Biofilm formation was strongly correlated with the production of OMV in this strain. We further observed that strain TK1402 did not form thick biofilms in Brucella broth supplemented with 0.2% β-cyclodextrin. However, the addition of the OMV-fraction collected from TK1402 could enhance biofilm formation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggested that OMV produced from TK1402 play an important role in biofilm formation in strain TK1402.</p

Interleukin-17 Promotes Autoimmunity by Triggering a Positive-Feedback Loop via Interleukin-6 Induction

Tensile deformation and failure behavior at room temperature of the open cell nickel and copper foams with high porosity (96%) fabricated with the slurry foaming process at Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Japan, was studied. In-situ observation of the deformation and failure behavior was conducted with a digital microscope. Stress-strain curves were measured, in which a non-contact extensometer was employed to detect the strain of the samples accurately. Electric resistance was measured to monitor the damage evolution. Finite element stress analysis was conducted to calculate the morphological change of cells with applied strain and the stress distribution in cells. It was revealed that the deformation and failure progressed through the following four stages; stage I characterized by the elastic deformation, stage II by plastic deformation, stage III by the co-occurrence of plastic deformation and cumulative failure of struts and stage IV by the chain reaction of strut failure nearly in a limited cross-section, respectively. Also it was found that the distribution of failure strain of struts in stage III, measured from the serrations in the stress-strain curve, could be described by the Weibull distribution, with which the transition from stage II to III was identified. Also, the result of the statistical analysis suggested that the average failure strain of the struts in the foam is much higher than the strain at ultimate stress of the foam